


The Last Remaining Canaanite

by coraxes



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Post-Dishonored: Death of the Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 14:36:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15687396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coraxes/pseuds/coraxes
Summary: The wanted posters circling around Karnaca had included the chunk of stone in place of Billie Lurk's eye, but they hadn’t shown it glowing red like a furnace window.  And, Corvo realized, her other eye in the posters had looked human.  Not a familiar solid black.[Goes AU in the last 5 seconds of DOTO.]





	The Last Remaining Canaanite

**Author's Note:**

> I've had variations of this fic floating around in my head and in like...three google drafts ever since I've played the game. Not sure if I'm happy with the way this came out, but whatever, it's done. 
> 
> Title is from ["Poor Isaac" by The Airborne Toxic Event](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjLI1m3UtSM), which I'm pretty sure is the DOTO theme song.

Corvo clenched his fists to keep from fidgeting with his hand wraps.  His mark no longer blazed with pain like the day before, when he and Emily had excused themselves from a council meeting to find raw red skin in place of stark black.  He knew under the bandages he would find only blisters.

 

He and Emily both had been agitated.  After their third just-barely-not-an-argument, Emily had insisted on excusing him from his duties for the evening.  After everything she had done during the coup, Corvo had no room to argue, no matter how much he wanted to.  At least no one present questioned him as he stalked to their safe room and opened its door.  Perhaps expecting the Outsider to answer him at Emily’s new shrine when he didn’t truly need them to communicate was foolish, but Corvo could hope.

 

Corvo wrinkled his nose as the smell of white leaf tobacco hit it, and quickly shut the door behind him.  Emily had never been as covert as she had liked to believe.  He couldn’t blame her for indulging, though.  He would be tempted after the last couple of days if white leaf didn’t make him even more paranoid than usual. 

 

He turned from the door and took a few steps into the room, then froze as movement caught his eye in the alcove that held Emily’s bed.  His hand went to his sword.  “Who’s there?”

 

A woman stepped gracefully from the alcove.  “Billie Lurk,” she said.  “I’ll wave a white flag if it’ll make you feel better, Lord Protector.”

 

She looked younger than he had expected.  Emily had told him about Billie Lurk—Meagan Foster.  The woman she described had sounded a lot like Daud by the time Corvo met him.  Angry, tired, regretful and conflicted on what to do about it.  The reveal of Billie’s identity had shaken Emily; she viewed it as yet another betrayal.  But Corvo had seen something different in her mentions of journals and audiographs left out where Billie knew Emily would read them.  Then stories had begun swirling in from Serkonos of Billie Lurk up to her old tricks, and neither Corvo nor Emily had quite known what to make of them.

 

The wanted posters circling around Karnaca had included the chunk of stone in place of her eye—Emily couldn’t explain that one, though Corvo had the feeling she was hiding something—but they hadn’t shown it glowing red like a furnace window.  And, Corvo realized with a start, her other eye in the posters had looked human _._ Not a familiar solid black.  

 

“I’m not sure it will,” he said.  The corner of Lurk’s mouth twitched up.  “What happened to you?  Why are you here?”

 

“You might want to sit down,” she said.  As Corvo opened his mouth to protest she added, “You’ll need it.  I’ll answer your questions.  And I’ll tell you what happened to the Outsider.”

 

“Is he alright?” Corvo asked.  When he’d appeared to return Corvo’s mark after Emily killed Delilah, the Outsider had seemed different than Corvo remembered.  Emily hadn’t mentioned it, but perhaps she hadn’t known.

 

There was a muffled laugh from inside the alcove where Billie had been hiding.  Corvo started.  Billie rolled her eyes.  “He will be.  I think he’s high, actually.” 

 

“That’s—” Corvo meant to brush past her.  But as he took a step forward, he found himself frozen in place, Billie’s hand on his shoulder. 

 

“Sit  _down,_ ” she said, whalesong echoing in her voice.  Before he quite knew what he was doing, Corvo was in a chair and Billie was staring at him, looking nearly as shaken as he felt.  “Well, that’s new.”

 

Corvo was getting  _very tired_ of being magically manhandled.  The last two times that happened had been on the worst days of his life, which did not bode well for this conversation.  “What—”

 

“I’m the new Outsider,” Billie said quickly.  “Well, sort of.  He’s human, and I’m still  _me,_ but I’m going to be the one floating in the void being cryptic for the next few millennia.  Apparently.”

 

As if waiting for her cue, the Outsider leaned out of the doorway.  Even knowing it had to be him Corvo almost didn’t recognize the man in so normal a setting.  Especially when he turned pale, human—and bloodshot—eyes on Corvo and smirked.  “Hello, Corvo,” he said.  The voice was the same, at least.

 

Billie pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes.

 

Corvo blinked.  Thankfully for all involved, he had grown to accept that his lot in life was to be confused and in over his head.  “And how did this happen?”

 

“Daud,” Billie said.  “He wanted to kill the Outsider, but I—we found another way.”

 

“Ah, yes,” said the Outsider, staring at his own hand.  “You decided to let me die slowly instead.”

 

Billie ignored him.  “We had found the knife that this cult had used to make the Outsider in the first place.  When he turned back into a human, my own fucking undead arm decided to stab me with it.  I think the void wanted someone around, and I’d been in it so much…I don’t know.  Point is, I died yesterday and woke up a few hours later with way too much swimming around in my head.”

 

Most of her explanation required even more of an explanation.  Corvo settled on the point of most immediate concern.  “Where is Daud?”  When Corvo let the Knife of Dunwall live, he’d hoped he would take his regret and disappear into a Tyvian winter.  Until now Daud had been cooperative.

 

Billie stiffened; her flesh hand curled into a fist. “Dead.”

 

“Ah,” said Corvo.  If he hadn’t known it would come out sarcastic, he would have told her he was sorry. 

 

The Outsider laughed again, strange and high as if he wasn’t sure how it was normally done.  Corvo stared.  “White leaf tobacco.  No one discovered it until long after I was human,” he said cheerfully.

 

“Anyway, I’m here because he’s your problem now,” Billie said quickly. 

 

“Absolutely not,” said Corvo.  Emily couldn’t afford to have a strange man hanging about the palace.  Heresy accusations had followed him for years; the Abby was too weak to strike against them now, but that wouldn’t last for long.

 

“Where else is he going to go?” said Billie with a shrug. 

 

“I have watched over this world for millennia,” the Outsider protested.  “I know how to be subtle, Corvo.  And I know how to make myself _very_ useful.”

 

Corvo squirmed.  Billie rolled her eyes.  “Besides, you two are his favorites.”  The Outsider shot her a betrayed look, and she waved him off.  “Don’t give me that shit.  Look, you figure it out.  But that’s not the only reason I’m here.”

 

“What else do you want, then?” Corvo snapped. 

 

“I thought I owed you and Emily a warning,” Billie said.  She straightened and the world around her _shifted_ —shadows lengthening, every beam of light seeming to fade except the deep red of her eye.  “I’m not _him._ I plan to be a little more…active.  No more swanning around in dreams while the world goes to shit.”

 

The Outsider’s head tilted.  “Oh, Billie.  You’ll learn.”

 

“What does that mean, exactly?” asked Corvo.

 

She shrugged.  “I guess we’ll both find out.  But Emily’s made it pretty clear she doesn’t want to see me again.  So let her know that things are going to change, and not in ways she’ll always like.  I don’t plan on crowning myself empress,” she added at the look on Corvo’s face, “but, well…I can promise this won’t be a boring few years.  Good luck.  To both of you.”

 

Billie stepped backwards.  _“Wait,_ ” Corvo snapped—he needed to know more, needed to figure out how to get Emily through this—but of course she vanished as cleanly as if she had Blinked away.

 

The Outsider looked at the place where she had vanished.  “You know, she made fun of me for being cryptic,” he said, the faintest trace of a scowl on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos make my whole life, y'all.


End file.
